The smart mining market has achieved a handsome growth rate in recent times and is expected to continue growing as mining firms adopt smart mining technology to optimize production and reduce operational costs.

Demand and supply in the mining sector had suffered for quite some time after receiving prodigious pressure from a commodity price environment that was passably dubious. Moreover, mining companies were heavily dependent on manual resources and labor work to execute mining operations. This increased their cost and time of operation and lacked technical efficiency in mining activities. However, as smart mining methodologies made headway in the industry, they significantly helped miners and also the global market to begin to secure a substantial growth.

With a double-digit CAGR, the international smart mining market is prognosticated by Transparency Market Research (TMR), a leading market research company, to be valued at around US$22.5 bn by 2024.

Does Smart Mining Justify High Cost of Deployment?

The long association with labor work for mining activities did not help much with waste control and optimal production. In fact, it posed quite a challenge for mining companies relying on manual processes to recover from the losses due to wastage. Some of the commonly used manually operated equipment are compressed drills, pickaxes, and iron hammers and chisels. Smart mining is a boon for mining companies to ensure a friendly and guarded environment for their workers, which the conventional mining methodology fell short of.

Lack of skill on the part of novice and technologically-ignorant miners to operate smart mining equipment error-free and with the right technique may momentarily halt the adoption of smart mining. However, mining companies are effectually investing in training their staff to operate smart mining technologies.

Although the cost of deployment is relatively high, smart mining technologies hold the potential to drop operational expenses at a striking rate, thus compensating for the common downside. Smart mining has made it possible to neutralize the need for exploration in faraway sites due to the slump in ore grade and plunge in mining reserves.

Which Segments Secured Key Historical Market Share?

On the basis of geography, the market for smart mining includes key segments, viz. Asia Pacific (APAC), North America, the Middle East and Africa (MEA), Europe, and South and Central America. Countries such as India and China are predicted to sustain a telling growth in the near future with the rising usage of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions. In 2014, APAC secured a key share in the smart mining market and was trailed by North America and Europe. Increase in the number of mining jobs in the African continent and aggressive economic advancement have promised growth for the MEA segment.

The smart mining market is also categorized based on four other parameters, viz. automated equipment, hardware component, software solutions, and services. The excavators segment of automated equipment was in the limelight in 2014 in terms of market share. The hardware component market and software solutions market thrived on intelligent systems and data and operation management software segments respectively in the same year. For the services market, the critical segments include consulting, product training, support and maintenance, and system integration and implementation.

With key players, such as Trimble Navigation Limited, Rockwell Automation, Inc., and Alastri, the degree of competition created could influence the profitability and structure of the international market.